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Monday, 9 May 2016

UNBOXING: Dark Souls III Collector's Edition

First off, let me apologise for the lack of posts over the last few weeks. I've just finished my first year of university, and I was absolutely swamped with assignments and deadlines, and obviously they took priority. But, now I'm completely finished for the summer, and I'm ready to write again.

So, as you probably know, Dark Souls III came out last month on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. I managed to get my hands on the Collector's Edition for PC, and seriously, it's absolutely amazing. I got it for around £65 on Amazon after some discounts, and it really was worth the money. Obviously, I'm super late with this unboxing, but I thought I'd post it anyway. The photographs aren't amazing quality because I had to use my mobile phone to take them, but I hope you enjoy this unboxing regardless.

Starting off, this is what the outside of the box looks like. I didn't measure it, but it is fairly large – it hardly fit in the Amazon locker it was delivered to! As usual with collector's edition boxes, the box is adorned with all of
the usual PEGI and age ratings, logos, and platform details. If you're familiar with Dark Souls III, then you'll know that the yellow figure on the front is the Red Knight, a brand new character to the Dark Souls series. I didn't take photographs of the back of the box because it is mainly blank, and honestly, there wasn't anything on there worth showing off.

The first thing I took out of the box was the Dark Souls: Art of the Trilogy book. It's hardcover, roughly A4 size, and consists of 169 pages – definitely hefty for an art book included in a collector's edition. In every special edition of a game I've ever bought, the art book has always been a few measly pages, so it was a great surprise to find out that this one was actually of decent size. It's something you'd expect to find in a shop, it's that big! The book contains both concept and full coloured art from all three of the games in the Dark Souls series, from NPCs to enemies and bosses, to worlds and armour and weaponry. Dark Souls: Art of the Trilogy truly is a beautiful book, and is one of my favourite things in the Collector's Edition.

The Dark Souls III steelbook was the next thing I pulled out of the box. It is in a gorgeous silver brushed metal colour, and is made to look either aged or rusted, with darker splotches of black scattered all over the front and back. The famous Dark Souls bonfire is embossed on the cover, along with other various patterns and designs along the edges. The back features the Red Knight again, this time in a standing stance. The same patterns from the front are here too.

There are four discs inside the steelbook: three installation discs for Dark Souls III, and a soundtrack for the game. Each disc seems to include a small section of a bigger picture of the Red Knight, yet again. Also inside the steelbook is a Steam redemption code for Dark Souls III, and a promotional Bandai Namco flier. I really love the fact that not only do you get a digital download key, you also get the physical installation discs too. I expected the steelbook to just include the download code for the game and the soundtrack, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the game discs too.

By far the best thing in the Dark Souls III Collector's Edition is the Red Knight statue. Measuring at 25cm, it's almost the same size as the Warrior Knight statue included in the Dark Souls II Collector's Edition. The Red Knight is supported by a base of rocks, and is wielding his two swords, and is in his attacking stance. The rocky base also has a plaque which reads "Dark Souls III" – much like that of the famous plaque in the games which shows you how many times players have died worldwide.

The next thing is the cloth map. Now, I'm not sure of the size of it without measuring it (and I don't have a ruler!) but it is larger than A4. Feeling it, the map is made from high quality material, and doesn't feel thin and flimsy like that of other cloth maps included in collector's editions (*cough* Twilight Princess HD *cough*). It was incredibly creased when I unfolded it, hence the thick creases in the photographs, but they can easily be ironed out – I just don't own an iron, haha. It shows the overworld of Dark Souls III, and it really is lovely. The plan is to get it framed and then hang it on the wall somewhere!

The last thing in the box is a set of three iron-on patches. The first is the traditional Dark Souls bonfire. I really like this one– it's my favourite of the three and I think I want it tattooed on me somewhere! The second is the famous "Praise The Sun" slogan spoken by Solaire of Astora of the Warriors of Sunlight covenant in Dark Souls, along with the covenant logo. The third patch is the Estus Flask, with the "A Taste of Life" slogan. These patches are great, but I'm yet to decide what I want to iron them on to. The patches are a good size; not too small, and not too big.

That's it for my Dark Souls III Collector's Edition unboxing post. Again, I apologise for the lateness and the lack of image quality. I don't yet have a digital camera, so I'm having to make do with my mobile phone. I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse of what is included in this amazing edition. I love it so much, and it's definitely my favourite collector's edition in terms of quality and the range of items. As I said previously, I got it for around £65 from Amazon with some discount codes I had stored up, but I definitely would have paid full price for it at £80. What do you think of it? Did you manage to nab it also? Leave me a comment below!